Combined Deficiency of p50 and cRel in CD4⁺ T Cells Reveals an Essential Requirement for Nuclear Factor κB in Regulating Mature T Cell Survival and In Vivo Function

Signaling pathways involved in regulating T cell proliferation and survival are not well understood. Here we have investigated a possible role of the nuclear factor (NF)-κB pathway in regulating mature T cell function by using CD4⁺ T cells from p50^−/− cRel^−/− mice, which exhibit virtually no inducible κB site binding activity. Studies with these mice indicate an essential role of T cell receptor (TCR)-induced NF-κB in regulating interleukin (IL)-2 expression, cell cycle entry, and survival of T cells. Our results further indicate that NF-κB regulates TCR-induced expression of antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family members. Strikingly, retroviral transduction of CD4⁺ T cells with the NF-κB–inducing IκB kinase β showed that NF-κB activation is not only necessary but also sufficient for T cell survival. In contrast, our results indicate a lack of involvement of NF-κB in both IL-2 and Akt-induced survival pathways. In vivo, p50^−/− cRel^−/− mice showed impaired superantigen-induced T cell responses as well as decreased numbers of effector/memory and regulatory CD4⁺ T cells. These findings provide the first demonstration of a role for NF-κB proteins in regulating T cell function in vivo and establish a critically important function of NF-κB in TCR-induced regulation of survival.